The drizzle outside had softened into a steady, whispering rain that blurred the edges of the world, turning the tall evergreens surrounding the mansion into ghostly silhouettes against a steel-gray sky. Water beaded on the windows of Marcus’s black SUV as it wound along the narrow, slick roads leading away from their secluded home. Inside the vehicle, the air felt thick, charged with a tension that pressed against Elena’s chest like a physical weight. She sat in the passenger seat, her hands clasped tightly in her lap, fingers twisting the hem of her soft gray sweater. The heater hummed quietly, blowing warm air across her ankles, but it did nothing...